Orlando massacre both hate crime and terrorism: FBI

"This was an act of violence, born out of hate, that inflicted terror on an entire community"

A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official said the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida was both hate crime and an act of terror.

“This was an act of violence, born out of hate, that inflicted terror on an entire community,” said Ron Hopper, special FBI agent in charge of the case.

“So I would call it a hate crime. I would call it terrorism. It’s both,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hopper as saying.

At least 49 people were killed and 53 others were wounded, including a police officer, on Sunday in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

It was the worst mass shooting in US history and the deadliest terror attack since the 9/11 in 2001.

Meanwhile, according to US TV network NBC News, Mateen’s wife had reportedly feared that Mateen was planning to attack a gay nightclub before Sunday’s massacre and pleaded with him not to commit violence, but she did not inform the police.